Rules of evidence cause snags in logging cases

Tony Hotland, Jakarta

The restriction on the types of evidence that are admissible in court is one of the biggest obstacles facing the country in its efforts to stamp out illegal logging, a senior policy advisor to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Indonesia says.

"The use of photographs in illegal logging cases should be at least accepted by courts as evidence as many suspects have been walking free due to a supposed lack of evidence," Agus Setyarso told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday after opening a two-day workshop on newly-drafted guidelines for tackling illegal logging.

The WWF, the Ministry of Forestry and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) have drafted various guidelines for the government, law enforcement institutions, non- governmental organizations and the public on how to stamp out illegal logging.

"Or perhaps the courts should allow the use of video linkups to hear witnesses, as they have been willing to do in other recent cases," Agus said.

The Criminal Code recognizes only testimony given by witnesses, experts and suspects in the courtroom, documents written under oath, and clues indicating the commission of a criminal act as admissible evidence.

Weak law enforcement has been blamed for rampant illegal logging, with police involvement becoming increasingly evident, as reported by NGO activists in many areas.

Agus asserted that it would take a long time to finally come up with a group of clean individuals to take charge of the effort to tackle illegal logging.

"That's why meetings between various components of society, such as government officials, activists, courts, police and local citizens are essential, so we can select trustworthy people to participate at the bureaucracy level in ensuring the clean and fair handling of illegal logging cases," he explained.

Other legal measures that could be taken, said Agus, included extradition agreements with neighboring countries, such as Malaysia, to provide certainty as regards the treatment of suspects that had fled abroad.

"Most importantly, the government must start issuing the necessary ancillary regulations for the implementation of Law No. 41/1999 on forestry so as to eliminate all possibility for differing interpretations of the law and loopholes," explained Agus.

The government is currently finalizing a regulation in lieu of law on illegal logging, which is expected to be more effective in bringing suspects to justice and deterring others from committing such crimes.

The draft regulation stipulates a minimum three-year sentence for convicted illegal loggers and a maximum sentence of death for those found guilty of organizing such crimes.

Agus said the draft guidelines were not legally binding for the time being, but quickly added that the draft could subsequently be proposed for incorporation into a government regulation.

The guidelines consist of six chapters regarding illegal logging; regulation-making, prevention, detection and monitoring, eradication, campaigning, and coordination between the parties involved.